A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 16 years in jail for an incident in which he opened fire on four NYPD officers, shooting and wounding one of the officers in the process, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced this week.
37-year-old Kelvin Stichel, a resident of Bed-Stuy, received the 16-year prison sentence — along with five years of post-release supervision — from Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Justice Claudia Daniels-DePeyster after Stichel pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder back on Jan. 26, 2023.
Gonzalez said the incident occurred in the early morning of July 7, 2018. On that day, NYPD Detective Miguel Soto and three other officers were driving an unmarked car along Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy, where they eventually spotted Stichel walking on the sidewalk.
According to evidence from the investigation, the officers had recognized Stichel from an investigation card for an alleged armed robbery, and proceeded to make a U-turn to approach the Brooklyn man. Having noticed the vehicular maneuver, Stichel fled the scene, turning onto Tompkins Avenue and then making his way onto Decatur Street.
The NYPD officers chased Stichel on foot after pursuing him in the vehicle, identifying themselves and ordering the Bed-Stuy resident to show his hands. Stichel then proceeded to pull out a handgun and fired six shots at the officers, with one of the bullets striking Detective Soto in his right leg.
The officers returned fire, hitting Stichel one time in his left arm. The Brooklyn man would later be arrested at 39 Kingston St., where his handgun was recovered from a nearby trashcan.
Soto and Stichel would both be taken to local hospitals to treat their wounds.
“The six shots this defendant fired at officers as he fled could have killed them and highlights the risks our police partners take every day on the job. We will never tolerate violence against law enforcement in Brooklyn, and today’s sentence holds this defendant accountable for his deplorable crime," said Gonzalez.
